Jerry Tsai has stepped down as editor of RECOIL. The debate surrounding Tsai’s pre-resignation statements—and all the conversations that will be had about RECOIL in the near and (possibly) distant future—shouldn’t be about one man’s opinions. It should center on larger issues that affect each and every gun owner. As in “what limits should be put on civilian firearm ownership?” At the end of the day, there shouldn’t be any limits on gun ownership—short of the intent to harm another human being outside of a defensive action . . .
The reason I became so personally invested in the RECOIL controversy this week wasn’t a desire to see a man lose his job. It was to ensure that any voice of influence and leadership in this industry agrees that our right to keep and bear arms should not be legally curtailed. There is absolutely no such thing as a reasonable restriction on the rights of responsible, law abiding people to own and carry firearms.
There are types of guns that we, as individuals, may not like. There are reasons for owning guns that we, as individuals, may not include as our own. Fundamentally, though, personal defense is the primary and best reason firearms should be available to individuals.
Certainly, we may not always agree on the best choice of gun for defense, the best ways to exercise our rights or the best caliber for any given purpose. But on the issue of zero tolerance for limitations of our Constitutional rights we must be united.
I wish RECOIL and Jerry Tsai good luck in rebuilding—so long as they do so with a stronger sense of the importance of instilling these principles in the young, enthusiastic gun owners that they reach. And anyone else who is listening.
Will the change in leadership signal a change in the mag’s messaging? Will RECOIL now send a strong message to young gun owners that the fundamental reason to own a firearm is personal, home and (in the worst case) national defense? Watch this space.